How can I participate in the Workplace Survey?

During the survey period, which will run from October 1 – 21,
2014,staff may go online
(www.yale.edu/conversations)
and access a confidential website to take the survey, which will
take about 7-10 minutes. The website will be accessible
from office and home computers. Paper versions of the
survey will be available for members of Local 35.

How can I be sure the survey results are confidential?

You will not be asked for your Net ID when you take the survey. Therefore, the University will have no way of tracking who took the survey. In addition, departments with less than ten employees will not receive an individual report. Their results will be rolled up to the next level.

Can my manager or any member of the Yale Leadership team access my individual responses to the 2014 Workplace Survey?

No, no one at Yale has access to your individual responses. Your responses are collected by an external survey administration team, Sirota Survey Intelligence. In addition, Sirota is not able to track your individual responses and associate them with a specific person, because the Yale 2014 Workplace Survey does not request your name. Therefore, tracking responses to an individual is impossible to do.

Can my computer's IP Address, a unique number assigned to my computer, be tracked by Yale in order to gain access to an individual's Workplace Survey response?

No, Yale nor Sirota is tracking anyone's computer to determine who has and who has not participated in the survey. At Yale, survey participation is strongly encouraged but not required. We are very appreciative of the responses received and will use the information collected to strengthen the climate and culture of the university.

If I am the only person in my department of a specific demographic, such as gender, race, age, military status, can my individual responses be accessed and/or viewed by my manager or a member of Yale's leadership team?

No, responses by demographic groups that do not total 10 or more cannot be accessed. Sirota Survey Intelligence has imposed a standard for data collection. The standard requires that there be 10 or more of any demographic group (i.e. age, race, gender, military status, etc.) before survey results are shared with the university. This means that any demographic of nine or less in any given demographic category will not be accessible at the department level. Such responses/results will be rolled up into the next level of reporting, making an individual's information impossible to access.

Can my manager or Yale leadership track participation by individual, meaning, does Yale know if I've participated or not in the 2014 Survey?

No, no one at Yale, nor the staff at Sirota can track an individual's participation. The Yale Workplace Survey does not request an individual's name or Net ID, it is impossible to know who has and has not participated.

How long will the survey be open?

The survey will be available from October 1 through midnight, October 21, 2014.

When will the results be communicated?

The results should be communicated during the first quarter of 2015.

How will the results be communicated?

The results will be communicated in a variety of ways. There will be Town Hall meetings to review the University’s results. The results will also be posted on the Workplace Survey’s website. Your individual department’s results will be presented by your manager.

What will happen as a result of the Workplace Survey?

Depending on the results of the survey, the University will determine a number of initiatives to work on for the next couple of years. Action Plans will be developed and teams created to work on the initiatives. The survey results will be well publicized and many employees will have the opportunity to help make Yale the employer of choice.